“Some Things Can Never Be Spoken”
By Timothy Hagy
PARIS, July 5, 2005 - There’s an emotional quality to Hedi Slimane’s work
for
Dior Homme that’s nearly impossible to communicate in words. It’s a feeling
that permeates each collection. It swirls down the catwalk, striking like a
lightening bolt at the heart and soul of a new generation.
“Some things can never be pronounced
Some things can never be spoken”
It was there in the white carton that served as an invitation to the Summer
2006 collection shown Tuesday evening at the Théatre de l’Europe aux
Atelier
Berthier on the outskirts of Paris. Inside were a series of black and white
leaflets emblazoned with images and poetic fragments that communicate
volumes:
“We ruled the world
U used to fall in love with everyone
And if I start a commotion
I don’t like French kissin
If I have to cut my hair?
I end up chasing U, and U, and U too
I just want a lover like any other
It’s spinning round
I’m the boy about town that you’ve heard of
Buy me a cherry face now
Buy me a rubber ball now
Buy me anything I want
I think it’s U
I can’t be sure
I have seen sex and I think it’s alright
I have seen sex and I think I like it.
The boys all shout
The boys all sing”
Read those lines to a 20 year old and see what happens. That powerful
connection with the here and now is the reason why the elite of the fashion
world began to gather before the show, quickly filling the 210 seats in the
small, rectangular theater. And it seemed at times to be a big reunion:
Sydney Toledano, President of Dior Couture, Yves Carcelle, President of
Louis
Vuiton, greeted Hélène and Bernard Arnault like old friends. Delphine and
Antoine Arnault posed for pictures.
Then there was Pierre Bergé,cofounder of the House of Yves Saint Laurent,
with Betty Catroux. Bergé shielded his eyes against the flash of paparazzi
swirling around Karl Lagerfeld, and then kissed the couturier on his cheek.
Karl said, “Of course I lost all that weight to get into Hedi’s clothes -
Dior only comes in small sizes!”
Kal Ruttenstein, Senior Vice President of Bloomingdales, sat down beside
David Furnish.
“I love fashion,” David said. “I think it’s a barometer of the times we
live
in.”
Then everyone made room for Mick Jagger, who arrived seconds before the
lights dimmed.
As the show began, the six glass panels that bisected the runway turned
magically transparent and then lifted to the ceiling.
And what soon passed down the catwalk was a collection that pushed the
codes
of men’s fashion further down the rode. Aside from the exquisite laser-cut
suits that have made Hedi famous, the vocabulary was enlarged this season
to
include a new cut of Spencer, slashed midway down the back, with tails
swirled in the front. A tuxedo was literally hacked off at chest level to
become a sort of Bolero. But the real tour de force was a collection of
T-shirts that were split at the sides, necklines erotically draping down
the
chest. Elsewhere pants sparkled in silver, and new textures of patterned
lurex were molded into evening wear.
Jeans were worn with crossed red suspenders, and shirts were sprinkled with
silver studs.
The finale of muscle shirts worn with jeans or sparkling pants not only
reflected the way young people dress today, but exuded that bubbling
sensuality that has become synonymous with Dior Homme.
Backstage hoards of journalists were attempting to crowd around Hedi, held
back by a flotilla of security guards.
“It was just a fun show,” the designer said by way of explanation. Hedi,
who
was celebrating his 37th birthday, looked awesomely comfortable in the
limelight.
This collection was Dior Homme at it’s best, and men’s fashion simply doesn’t get any better than that.
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